United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research and
Development
Washington, DC 20460
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Washington, DC 20460
xvEPA
SITE FACTS
Location:'Brookhaven,
Mississippi ' "' »'
rr„,„ t < , j
Laboratories/Agencies: U.S.
EPA Risk Reduction , •
-Engineering Laboratory (RREL),
1 U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Products Laboratory '
(FPL), Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation (SHE) -
Program, D.S. EPA'Region 4
I Media and Contaminants:
Pentachloropnenol (PCP) and
"• creosote sludge in soil ' ^
Treatment: Whitest fungi \ l~ ,>
" Date of Initiative Selection:
Spring 1991 ' :' ,
Objective:, To evaluate the -
"' effectiveness of white-rot fungi'r ,
treatment for >vpod preserving v
,'wastes'', /^ ''
Bioremediation Field Initiative
• Contacts: John Glaser and ,'- -
Richard Brenner, U.S. EPA '
RREL, 26 West Martin Luther' "'
,,45268'.
, Regional Contact:
^De/L|ntoneussMobre,~U.S, EPA
, Region 4, WasteManagement J
Division, 345 Courdand Street,',
- Atlanta, GA 30365^ , "
EPA/540/F-93/510G
September1993
Bioremediation Field
Initiative Site Profile:
Escambia Wood Preserving
Site—Brookhaven
Background
The Escambia Wood Preserving Site—Brookhaven in Brookhaven,
Mississippi, is a former wood preserving facility that used pentachlo-
rophenol (PCP) and creosote to treat wooden poles. The site contains
two pressure treatment cylinders, a wastewater treatment system,
five bulk product storage tanks, and seven condenser ponds, includ-
ing a 3,000,000-gallon, unlined primary surface impoundment. Prior
to the installation of the wastewater treatment system in 1983, un-.
treated process wastewater and sludge from the facility were pumped
into the primary surface impoundment to evaporate excess water. In
1985, PCP-contaminated sediment and sludge from the condenser
ponds were excavated and deposited in the primary surface im-
poundment. In April 1991, U.S. EPA Region 4 initiated a removal
action to eliminate all sources of potential releases to the environment.
In the fall of 1991, PCP-contaminated soil from the condenser ponds
was excavated and transferred to test plots to serve as a medium for
an 8-week feasibility study on white-rot fungi treatment. A second,
5-month study of one particular strain of white-rot fungus took place
from June to November 1992. Both studies were conducted by the
U.S. EPARisk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (RREL) and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) under
the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program
and the Bioremediation Field Initiative.
Characterization
In June 1991, as part of the Field Initiative's feasibility study, site
investigators systematically sampled a flat, approximately 18-m by
18-m section of a waste sludge pile of material from the condenser
ponds. Laboratory analysis of each sample found PCP concentrations
ranging from 25 mg/kg to 342 mg/kg, with an average of 143 mg/kg.
Investigators also analyzed composite samples consisting of soil from
each of the sample locations for volatile and semi-volatile organics.
The composite samples contained elevated concentrations of 44
organic compounds, 12 of which are hazardous constituents of K001
waste. Contaminant concentrations varied greatly within the waste
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SriC7 50 percent recycled fber.
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pile; the soil in the feasibility study had particularly
high pollutant levels.
Field Evaluation
The feasibility study compared 10 treatments,
combining three fungal species, three inoculum
loading levels, and the appropriate controls. The
experimental method combined a randomized
complete block (RGB) design without replication
and a balanced incomplete block (BIB) design with
treatment replicated four times. Eleven 10-ft by
10-ft plots, each holding about 4 tons of soil, were
constructed. In the RGB design, six of the plots each
received a separate treatment. In the BIB design,
each of the five remaining plots was divided by
interior borders into four 2.5-ft by 2.5-ft split plots.
The interior plots were used to evaluate one of the
treatments from the RGB design and four addi-
tional treatments.
Investigators excavated soil from the original sam-
pling location on the waste sludge pile to a depth
of approximately 30 cm. After excavation, the soil
was mechanically sieved to pass through a 2.5-cm
screen, mixed, then placed in the plots to a depth
of 25 cm. On September 18,1991, the plots were
inoculated with the fungi. After inoculation, each
plot periodically was irrigated and tilled with a
garden rototiller. Wood chips were added to each
plot to provide a substrate to sustain growth of the
fungi. Figure 1 is a schematic of the soil prepara-
tion, showing the treatment plots.
Status
Both the SITE program and investigators from FPL
collected soil samples during the feasibility study.
Sampling and analyses for PGP and polycyclic
SCREENING
TREATMENT PLOTS
Figure 1. Schematic of soil preparation, from excavation to screen-
ing, mixing, placement in treatment plots, and inoculation with
fungi.
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were performed by
methods previously used by each group. Initial
PGP concentrations in the 10 treatment plots
ranged between approximately 300 and 1,000
mg/kg. Results indicated losses of PGP in the treat-
ment plots of up to 89 percent of the initial concen-
trations. This level of remediation was considered
adequate to justify the initiation of a larger scale
investigation.
A larger scale investigation of Phanerochaete sordida
for remediation of the PGP-contaminated soil was
initiated in June 1992. Researchers inoculated a
100-ft by 70-ft plot with the fungal species. Two
control plots also were established—one with con-
taminated soil only and the other with contami-
nated soil and the fungal spawn mix. Sampling was
conducted through November 1992 to monitor the
transformation of PGP and PAHs. The data cur-
rently are being evaluated.
The Initiative's objectives are to more fully document the performance of,full-scale applications of bioremediation; provide
technical assistance to regional and state site managers; and provide information on treatability studies, design, and,operation of '
bioremediation projects. The Initiative currently is performing field evaluations^pf bioremediatiorf at eight other hazardous waste
sites: Libby Ground Water Superfund site, Libby, MT; Park City Pipeline,'Park"dity;~KS;TBendix Corporation/Allied" Automotive ,
Superfund site, St. Joseph, MI; West KL Avenue Landfill Superfund site, Kalamazoo, MI; Eielsbn Air Force Base Superfund site,-"
Fairbanks, AK; Hill Air Force Base Superfund site, Salt Lake City, UT; Reilly Tar,and Chemical Corporation'Superfund site, St.
Louis Park, MN; and Public Service Company, Denver,'CO. To-obtain, profiles'bn these additional sites or to.be added to the
Initiative's mailing list, call 513-569-7562. For further information on the Bioremediation'Fielii Mitiative/'cohtact Fran Kremer/
Coordinator, Bioremediation Field Initiative, U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development; 26 West Martin Luther King Drive,
Cincinnati, OH 45268; or Michael Forlini, U.S. EPA, Technology innovation Office, Office of Solid Waste and" Emergency Response, -
401M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460. -> < "" , '— - ' ,' ,', ,, -'>'. •
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